17 Mar Antioch’s Deer Valley High Students Star in ‘The Class’ Docuseries

“The Class,” a six-part documentary set to premiere on PBS this week, follows a group of Antioch’s Deer Valley High School students through their senior year during the pandemic. (Courtesy photo)

CC Pulse Staff Report

Students from Deer Valley High School in Antioch are the stars of a docuseries titled “The Class” set to be broadcast on Public Broadcasting Stations beginning Tuesday.

In the Bay Area, the six-part series will be shown on KQED with the first episode premiering 8 p.m. Friday.

The programs follow six students as they chase dreams of higher education during the pandemic that shut down schools across the U.S. in 2020.

The series was filmed during the 2020-21 school year and documents the challenges faced by these students at a critical moment in their personal and academic development, according to the films’ creators. And it shows how the students were inspired and counseled by their adviser, Cameron Schmidt-Temple — known as “Mr. Cam” — who himself graduated from Deer Valley. He is also the only college adviser at the school of more than 2,000 students.

The film is the product of Tony- and Grammy-winning executive producer Daveed Diggs (“Blindspotting,” “Snowpiercer,” “Hamilton”), executive producer Nicole Hurd (president, Lafayette College) and award-winning filmmakers Jaye and Adam Fenderson (“First Generation,” “Unlikely”) of Three Frame Media.

“We hope these students’ stories restore faith in the promise of college and the opportunities it provides for those who came of age during the pandemic,” said Jaye and Adam Fenderson in a press release.

The Fendersons connected with Hurd through College Advising Corps, which she founded. They said they were immediately drawn to its model of training recent college graduates to serve as advisers in public high schools. When planning the project during the pandemic’s early days, they sought to capture an adviser guiding students who had missed the end of their junior year — along with crucial milestones like SATs — in the college application process.

But when production began during the summer of 2020, the pandemic was far from over, and the story evolved into something far more complex than they had imagined.

The filmmakers found Mr. Cam after a virtual cross-country search for potential advisers. They said his charisma and passion made him an essential subject for the series. Then, with he and Deer Valley High School involved, the team met with many students before settling on six seniors — Ahmad Woodard, Ebei Oiyemhonlan, Emily Huizar, Javonte Sellers, Kadynce Betancourt and Raven Ybona — as the documentary’s subjects.

Ahmad transferred to Deer Valley to play basketball before COVID-19 put sports on hold. Emily balanced school with continuing to work a part-time in-person job during the pandemic. Kadynce wanted to go to law school and fight injustice.

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Hurd brought longtime friend and Oakland native Daveed Diggs to the project. Along with being an executive producer, he also lends his song “Night Time” to the series’ main title theme.

“High school has always been a challenging time, but in the age of COVID, it took an extra dose of courage and perseverance to succeed,” Diggs said in the press release. “As an Oakland native and a fierce advocate for expanding opportunities in education, I am proud to be a part of ‘The Class,’ which highlights the stories of six incredible Bay Area teens as they fight to achieve their dreams.”

As they launch the series, the filmmakers are engaging in a national impact campaign. They are encouraging audiences to discuss their experiences living through the COVID-19 pandemic and how it has affected their mental health and overall well-being as it relates to their academic and social lives.

The series and impact campaign is being made possible with support in part from the John M. Belk Endowment, Lumina Foundation, Gates Foundation, Evelyn & Walter Haas, Jr. Fund, Ascendium Education Group, Ballmer Group, Uplifting Capital, Ellucian and ECMC Foundation.

Check local listings to find out when you can view “The Class.”

To learn more about the series, visit www.theclassdocumentary.com.